CEDAR RAPIDS – Iowa Wesleyan College suffered one of its worst losses in recent memory as Mount Mercy College defeated the Tigers 97-53 in Midwest Collegiate Conference play Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers wilted after a good start and dropped their third straight game, falling to 6-10 overall (1-4 in conference). Mount Mercy continued its own good start to the season and improved to 14-3 overall, 3-1 in the MCC.
IWC played well for the game’s first 12 minutes before the Mustangs’ pressing defense took a toll. The Tigers led by as many as six points in the early going and trailed just 20-19 after Gary Rademaker (Jr.-Emden, Ill.) hit a three-pointer with 8: 17 left in the first half.
Wesleyan would turn the ball over on its next three possessions, though, and the Mustangs went on a 16-1 run to take a 36-20 lead with 5:21 left in the half. Mount Mercy eventually extended the lead to as many as 20 points and led 48-29 at halftime.
The Mustangs would dominate in the second half, outscoring IWC 41-11 at one point and going ahead by as many as 47 points on two occasions.
Reggie Shipp (Jr.-Aurora, Ill.) was the only Wesleyan player scoring in double figures with 14 points. Austin Burns (Fr.-Belvidere, Ill.) came off the bench in the final minutes and scored seven points in eight minutes of play. Patrick Macki (Sr.-London, England) added six points and joined Shipp and Burns as the only IWC players to score more than four points.
The Tigers shot 30.3% for the game (20-for-66) and were out-rebounded 56-37. Mount Mercy was led by Marty Tope, who had 21 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Wesleyan’s schedule gets no easier on Wednesday when the Tigers welcome nationally ranked Grand View University to Ruble Arena at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on KILJ Radio FM 105.5 in Mount Pleasant and online at www.kilj.com.
For more information regarding the IWC basketball programs or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics.
Box score MMC 97 IWC 53
